The present machine concerns that field of massage equipment directed toward accomplishing a deep tissue massage by simulating the action of human hands.
Massage of muscles of the human body is accepted as having therapeutic benefits. Depending upon the ailment, it may be highly desirable to accomplish massage of large muscle tissue remote from the surface of the body, with such a massage being termed in the trade a deep tissue massage. Deep tissue massage is best accomplished by the human hand having requisite strength for manipulation of back and neck muscle tissues with greater manual effort than massages affecting only surface areas of the body.
Various efforts to simulate manual massages have resulted in a number of massage machines being the subject of prior patents. While such machines may have certain advantages, it is noted generally that the complexity of same renders them impractical for individual ownership. Their high cost and machine operation render them suitable only for clinics and the like. Complex machines obviously do not lend themselves to alteration by the user to best suit individual requirements in view of the degree of mechanical skill required to alter same.
In the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 1,557,417 discloses a massage device having a circular array of ball elements which travel about a central axis while in rolling contact with the patient.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,390 discloses a surface for supporting a reclined human body and having massage elements, shown as spheres, propelled beneath a flexible pad with the spheres moving lengthwise along the patient""s back. A trolley carrying the spheres includes a motor for positioning the spheres relative one another to suit different patients.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,200,282 discloses a chair structure with a chair back serving to house a pair of rails which carry a support block from which projects pairs of massage members which travel along the patient""s back from the shoulder area to the lower back. The pairs of body massage members may be positioned toward one another about horizontal axes with provision also made for relocating the contacting members toward and away from a center line of the machine. The machine is of complex construction and not highly practical for individual ownership and operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,563 also discloses a chair structure having pairs of massaging elements for travel along a patient""s back with provision made for actuating the sets of rollers for each set positionable about a horizontal axis to apply different degrees of pressure to the patients back. The remarks applied to the immediately foregoing patented device also apply to the machine disclosed in the last mentioned patent.
The present invention is concerns a massage machine for temporary placement on a floor surface for use in massaging neck and shoulder muscles.
The present machine includes a platform for placement on a floor surface, preferably carpeted, permitting the user on the floor surface to position the neck and shoulder muscles for contact with massaging fingers of the machine. The massaging fingers are carried in an adjustable manner by a shaft of the machine powered by a gear head motor. A
platform opening permits ready access to the shaft and the massage fingers thereon to change the number and/or configuration of the fingers to best suit the task at hand. A pliable sheet of material is disposed between the massage fingers and the body and may be replaced or changed for various purposes. Retention means secures the pliable sheet to the machine platform.
Important objectives of the present machine include the provision of a machine of modest cost of manufacture resulting in a massage machine which may be priced at an acceptable level for ownership by individual users; the provision of a massage machine, the operation of which is readily understood by the consumer without complicated instructions as to machine operation and use; the provision of a massage machine having a driven shaft member which may be readily modified by the substitution of massage fingers thereon and the number of same to achieve optimum effects on deep tissue areas of the human body; the provision of a massage machine having a powered shaft highly accessible to the user for convenient modification of the shaft by altering the number or the configuration of massage fingers thereon; the provision of a massage machine having massage fingers which are readily changeable to provide larger or smaller fingers to vary massage pressure on the body and to provide massage fingers adjustable relative a shaft axis to vary their effect on the users body.